As Bernard Heuvelmans pointed out in his writings, indigenous peoples often describe their encounters with new animals in fantastic terms. These descriptions are frequently given in the context of the cultural environment of the natives, and should be read thusly. The “King Kong”-like tales of a giant, violent ape hid the factual, peaceful mountain gorilla, a remarkable discovery, nevertheless.

Darren Naish’s photo of a Chalicothere replica. (The item is worthy of pondering, as an educational tool, in his collection, as well as in that of the International Cryptozoology Museum’s, too.)

In the case of this new report out of Africa, for example, such a yardstick should be used to measure and analysis this account:

Namibia: Creatures Continue Nocturnal Attacks

Ongwediva — Stories of unidentified creatures that attack animals at night continue to do the rounds in the north. On the early morning hours of last Friday [October 1, 2010], a puppy that belonged to Lukas Fotolela, a resident of Ongwediva, died after it was savagely mauled by an unknown creature.

The creature allegedly entered the house through a small gate that was not properly closed.

“I was sleeping with an open window, when I saw a big white animal, with a black or brownish head forcing its way underneath the corrugated iron sheets where the puppies were sleeping. I tried to scare it away by hitting on the window but instead, it jumped towards me, wanting to attack me, but I quickly closed the door,” explained Monica Simon.

According to Simon, the creature looked like a dog, but was bigger than a dog. She explained that the animal exuded a strong bad odour.

“After I closed the window, the creature went back to the puppies and killed my favourite puppy. I heard it making sounds as if it was chewing something. I thought it was eating up the puppy but when we woke up, the dead dog only had a bit of blood coming from its mouth. I guess it sucked its blood,” said Simon.

The owner of the house, Lukas Fotolela, who worked until late that night came home to find his dog dead.

“When I came home, the incident had just happened. The small gate was open and the dog was already dead. The other puppy survived as it hid on the far corner of the corrugated iron sheets,” said Fotolela.

Fotolela said he searched his yard but could not find the animal or its footprints.

For years now stories of unknown creatures that kill animals in the north, especially Oshana Region have been reported. Livestock especially goats and chickens have reportedly fallen prey to these creatures. Accusing fingers are pointed at individuals who are accused of being the owners of these animals in what is believed to be witchcraft cases. They only suck their victims’ blood and eat the foetus from expecting goats.

Early this year, two dogs were killed by police officials and environment and tourism officers at Ehafo Village after the community there informed the officials that these dogs were responsible of the deaths of their animals.

The two dogs that belonged to an Oshakati businessman were killed after “mistaken” identity.

About Loren ColemanLoren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.